Internal combustion engine



Jan. 16, 1934; M. WOOLSON INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Dec. 12, 19 29 3 Sheets-Sheet l LmNEL M W uuLsuN Ian!" Jan. 16, 1934. L. M. wooLsoN 1,943,502

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE I I Filed Dec. 12, 1929 s Sheets-Sheet 2 gwue/ntow .[JUNEL MWUDL s'uN awomq Jan. 16, 1934. WQOLSQN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE 12, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec gwntoi ZJUNE'L M Wuuiscw KNTERNAL COIVIBUSTION ENGINE Lionel M. Woolson. Detroit, Mich, assignor to Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Application December 12, 11929 Serial No. 413,462

'3 Claims- (Cl. 244.3l)

This invention relates to internal combustion A valve 26 is arranged to control the inner end engines and more particularly to engines of the of each passage 24 which serves as both the air type employed as the motive power in airships. intake and the exhaust. The pistons 27, con- An object of the invention is to assist starting nected with the crank shaft by the rods 28, are

of a Diesel type of engine by utilizing cowling to arranged to be reciprocated within the cylinders. 6 raise the temperature of the fuel charge. An- The engine illustrated is of the four cycle type other object of my invention is to assist comand the valve is arranged to be opened through bustion in an internal combustion engine mechanism driven from the crank shaft, in a through utilizing the exhaust to raise the tem-' conventional manner, during the. air intake l0 perature of the cylinder heads. stroke and during the exhaust stroke of the cycle. 65

A further object of my invention is to utilize As before stated the engine illustrated is of the a cowling structure in a manner to assist com- Diesel type and a fuel oil injection device 29 is bustion in missing cylinders of an internal compreferably associated with each cylinder, the nozbustion engine when running at an idling speed. zle portion thereof being in communication with Still another object of the invention is to utilize the upper interior portion of the associated cylinthe cowling of an airship for controlling the temder, and suitable mechanism, enclosed by the asperature of. fuel charges in a Dieseltype of engine. sociated'housing 30, extends into the crank case Other objects of the invention will appear from and is arranged to actuate the plunger of the the following description taken in connection Dump also contained within the housing 30 so that 0 with the drawings, which form a part of this a desired variable quantity of liquid fuel can be specification, and in which: sprayed into the combustion chamber under high Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partially in section, pressure and finely atomized during a period in showing the fore. part of an airship with which which an air charge d aw into the Cylinder my invention is associated; is being compressed. Mechanism for operating Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same partially the valve 26 is enclosed by the housing 31 and 80 broken away to illustrate the cowling and enextends into the crank case where it is actuated gine details; in a conventional manner by mechanism driven Fig. 3 is a rear sectional view taken on line from the crank shaft.

3-3 of Fig. 1; and Starting of 2. Diesel engine is difficult under Fig, 4 i a, fragmentary plan view with the normal temperature conditions and is very difouter cowling wall removed. ficult to accomplish when the atmospheric tem- Referring now. in detail to the drawings by perature is low. This is particularly true of Diecharacters of reference, 10 represents generally Sel ngi es f t high p e typ a in w c a radial internal combustion engine of the 'Diesel exterior air is drawn directly i the cylindertype arranged at the from; of an airship A Ihave fOllIld that when the fuel injection is in plurality of cylinders 11 extend partially into the the S a l v y Portion of its range, t

chamber 12 in the crank case 13 and are provided atomization and pr ssur su ti is s m ti s with flanges 14 which engage the periphery of not sufficient to sustain combustion and therethe Crank case and are held thereagainst by the fore cylinders under such circumstances will not 40 circular compression bands 15 which transmit Start or will miss when running at idling speeds. the entire explosion loads from the cylinders an- The cold air from the exterior bein drawn inularly to the crank case. Extending axially rectly into the cylinders tends to chill the inthrough the crank case is the crank shaft 16 upon terior thereof, and thus adds to the difficulty of i the forward end of which is secured a propeller Obtaining sufiicient heat through compression to 45 17. The rear end of the crank case is provided cause ignition of the fuel charge. As a means with a flange 18 for the attachment of frame of overcoming such St a idling iffi l y members (not shown) which extend rearwardly I propose to utilize the engine cowling structure to the fuselage which is indicated generally at 21. to raise the temperature of the charge drawn The cylinders are provided with an integral through the cylinder passages to be compressed.

50 head 22 and a removable head 23, and a Venturi Such cowling structure consists of a plurality passage 24 extends through the heads of each of of wall elements which are associated preferably the cylinders at an angle to the axes thereof and with the heads of the cylinders to form a chamtangential with the inner walls thereof, such pasher into which the passages 24 open and into sages each terminating in a longitudinally exwhich the air passage can be regulated at will so 55 tending conduit 25 the ends of which are open. that the quantity of fresh air entering the chamhaust from the chamber will be retarded so that the charges drawn into cylinders contain some of the exhaust and thereby raise the temperature of the fuel charge, assisting in the promotion of combustion. A circular outer wall 32 extends around the radial engine structure and aligns vertically with the forward end of the crank case, being secured to the cylinder heads. The rear portion of the outer wall encloses a portion of the fuselage, indicated generally at 21, and the wall is curved at the front in a direction such that it will form a stream-line effect. A fabricated wall similar in contour to the wall 32 is arranged interiorly and in spaced relation thereto. In order to assemble the inner wall with the engine a. plate 33 provided with an aperture is telescopi cally associated with a central upstanding portion of each cylinder head, the auxiliary cylinder heads 23 clamping such plates against the integral cylinder heads. Plates 34 are arranged intermediate the plates 33 and are assembled therewith by endwise insertion between the adjacent ends of the plate 33 and the brackets 35 which are secured by rivets in parallel relation with such plate ends.

The inner wall is also provided with a front circular wall section 36 and a rear circular wall section 37, the front and rear edges of the front wall section and front edge of the rear wall section having brackets 38 secured thereto by rivets. A front wall 39 extends between the parallel inner and outer cowling walls and is bent at its upper and lower edges so that it will lie adjacent the bracket 38 at the front end of the wall 36 and adjacent the clip or bracket 40 which is riveted to the under side of the front end of the wall 32.

A bracket 41 is secured to the front end of the wall 32 while a bracket 42 is secured to the front end of the wall 36, such brackets 41 and 42 providing a retainer for a circular valve member 43 which is adjacent the front wall 39 of the cowling structure. Bolts 44 extend through the bracket 41, the front end ofthe wall 32, the upper bent end of the front wall 39 and the bracket 40 to secure the same together, while bolts 45 extend through the brackets 38, the lower bent end of the front wall 39, the front end of the wall 36 and the bracket 42 to secure such elements together.

A rear wall extends between the rear ends of the inner and outer cowling walls to close the upper half thereof, such rear wall being made up of a plurality of sections 46 the outer and inner edges of which are bent around the rear edges of the wall 32 and the wall 37. Such plates 46 are provided with brackets 47' at one end which are arranged to retain the adjacent section in position between the inner and outer walls, and a plurality of bolts 48 secure the bent over ends of the wall sections 46 with the ends of the cowling walls 32 and 37.

It will be noted that the cowling structure just described is arranged to provide a circular housing which extends around the fore part of the airship and encloses the heads of the cylinders so that the inlet and outlet ports open into the chamber so formed. Such cowling structure is also formed so that resistance opposing progress of the airship is reduced when the structure is applied to the engine. It will also be seen that such structure is supported entirely by the engine cylinders, however such a housing could be attached and supported in various other manners. The cowling structure is also spaced from ture.

' ber can be controlled and the removal of the exthe crank case and from the fuselage cover 50, which extends rearwardly from the rear end of the crank case, so that there is a space intermediate the cowling and the crank case and fuselage to permit cooling air to flow by the cylinders beneath the cowling chamber. If desired, a suitable air flow control wall can be interposed between the front end of the cowling structure described and the crank case so that the air flow past the cylinders can be thereby regulated as desired.

The front wall 39 is formed with a plurality of apertures 51 and the circular valve member 43 is also provided with similar apertures 52, so that by rotating the valve member the apertures in the front wall 39 can be entirely closed or opened to any degree desired. When the openings in the wall 39 are uncovered air is drawn into the cowling housing either by the suction created by the piston when the airship is standing still or by draught when the airship is moving so that fresh air is drawn through the conduit 25 and the passage 24 into the cylinder when the valve 26 is open, and exhaust will pass through the same passage and through-the rear end of the conduit 25 into the housing formed by the cowling struc- As the lower portion of the space between the inner and outer cowling walls is not covered, the exhaust will leave the housing through such opening, and the main reason for conducting the exhaust through the lower portion of the cowling housing is to prevent oil from splashing the windshield and interfering with the vision of the pilot. When the valve 43 is rotated so that it closes the openings through the front wall 39, then no fresh air is drawn into the cowling housing and neither is there any draught tending to cause the exhaust to flow from the cowling housing.

Under such circumstances the exhaust will be drawn from the cowling housing back through the conduit 25 and the passage 24 so that it will form the charge which is to be compressed and into which the fuel oil is injected. The presence of exhaust in the housing, when retarded in its outflow, tends to raise, the temperature of the cylinder heads and the fuel charge. Utilizing the exhaust in this manner, as a portion of the fuel charge, will consequently raise the temperature within the cylinder and thus assist in the combustion of the fuel charges. It will be seen that movement of the valve 43 in a direction closing the openings in the front wall 39 tends to raise the temperature within the cowling housing so that combustion temperature within the cylinders is more quickly attained, and I have found that with the structure described, starting of a Diesel engine is more easily accomplished and is of particular advantage when low temperatures are encountered. I have also found that when combustion ceases in some of the cylinders when idling, that by closing the openings in the'front .wall 39, the charges drawn into such cylinders through the passages 24 are of a temperature which will materially assist in the renewal of combustion.

Associated with the rotary valve 43 is provided mechanism which extends rearwardly so that it can be readily manipulated by the pilot to control the ports in the front wall 39. A bracket 60 is secured to the valve member and associated therewith by means of a ball joint or a similar connection is a link 61 which is connected to a lever 62 pivotally mounted upon a standard 63. A rod 64 is pivotally connected to an arm 65 which projects from the lever 62, and such rod extends rear- 150 wardly to a position where it can be actuated by the pilot. Reciprocation of the rod 64 will rotate the lever 62 and will reciprocate the member 61 to slide the valve element 43 around the front wall 39 so that it will open or close the ports in the front wall 39.

It will be understood that various forms of the invention other than those described above may be used without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Pating a circular chamber enclosing only the headportions of the cylinders, the ends of the chamber being open to atmosphere, and valve means controlling the front open end of the chamber.

2. In an airship, a radial internal combustion ngine of the Diesel type, cowling surrounding and enclosing only the heads of the engine cylinders said cowling forming a chamber open at the front and rear, a rotatable valve associated with the cowling to regulate the size of the front opening, and manually operated valve control means extending to a position for manipulation by the pilot.

3. In an airship, a radial internal combustion engine, cowling enclosing the heads of the engine cylinders, said cowling including parallel circular walls and end walls intermediate the circular walls, said end walls having openings therein, and a manually operable valve cooperating with the front end wall to regulate the size of the openings therein.

a. In an airship, a radial cylinder engine, a hollow cowling encircling the heads of the engine cylinders, the interior of said cowling forming a circular manifold, and connections establishing communication between the interior of the cowling and the interior of the cylinders through which air is tted and exhaust is expelled.

5. In an airship, an internal combustion engine, a hollow cowling structure for the engine, the interior of the hollow cowling structure forming a manifold and means establishing communication between the interior of the cowling and the interior of the cylinders during their air intake and exhaust periods.

6. In an airship, an internal combustion engine, a hollow cowling for the engine, the interior of said cowling forming a manifold open to atmosphere, and means establishing communication between the manifold and the interior of the cylinders during their intake periods.

7. In a propelled vehicle, an internal combustion engine, a hollow cowling structure for the engine, the interior of the hollow cowling structure forming a manifold, means establishing communication between the interior of the cowling and the interor of the cylinders during intake and exhaust periods, and valve means for regulating the volume of air entering the hollow cowling structure.

LIONEL M. WOOL-SON. 

